Guo Chi, Wang Chengquan, Huang Qi, Wang Zhi, Gong Xiaojing, Ramakrishna Seeram
Jiangsu Totus Technology Co.,ltd., Changzhou, 213164, PR China.
Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, National Experimental Demonstration Center for Materials Science and Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou, 213164, PR China.
Heliyon. 2022 Jul 20;8(8):e10007. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10007. eCollection 2022 Aug.
Fog and moisture in nature are important freshwater resources, and the collection of these fog water is of great significance to arid regions. Inspired by the unique geometric structure of the spindle knot on spider silk, artificial fibers with periodic structures have been fabricated for water collection, which can effectively alleviate the problem of water shortage in arid areas. Traditional manufacturing methods are difficult to replicate the true shape of the spindle knot, and related research has encountered a bottleneck in improving water collection efficiency. 3D printing technology, which is different from traditional subtractive manufacturing, can directly replicate spider silk with periodic knots, making it possible to study water collection by artificial spider webs of various designs. Here, 3D printing technology is used to fabricate artificial spider webs with different geometric structures for efficient transportation and collection of water. In addition, the artificial spider web is treated with hydrophilic surfaces. In the humid environment for 2 h, the spider web with convex-concave multi-size spindle knots and multi-curvature connections has a maximum water collection capacity of 6.2g, and the mass of water collection is 35% higher than the existing best water collection artificial fibers. This work provides a sustainable and environmentally friendly route for the effective collection of humid air, and has certain reference value for the development of environmentally friendly water collection equipment.
自然界中的雾和水汽是重要的淡水资源，收集这些雾水对干旱地区具有重要意义。受蜘蛛丝上纺锤结独特几何结构的启发，人们制造出了具有周期性结构的人造纤维用于集水，这能有效缓解干旱地区的缺水问题。传统制造方法难以复制纺锤结的真实形状，相关研究在提高集水效率方面遇到了瓶颈。与传统减材制造不同的3D打印技术，可以直接复制带有周期性结的蜘蛛丝，从而使研究各种设计的人造蜘蛛网集水成为可能。在此，利用3D打印技术制造出具有不同几何结构的人造蜘蛛网，用于高效运输和收集水分。此外，对人造蜘蛛网进行亲水性表面处理。在潮湿环境中放置2小时，具有凹凸多尺寸纺锤结和多曲率连接的蜘蛛网的最大集水量为6.2克，集水量比现有的最佳集水人造纤维高出35%。这项工作为有效收集潮湿空气提供了一条可持续且环保的途径，对环保集水设备的开发具有一定的参考价值。
